The Path to Destruction
by Toxic-Vengeance-Killjoy
Summary: America makes some decisions that could change his life. It all started because of a cigarette. M in later chapters because of drug-usage. I write stories not summaries.


****A/N: If you can guess the song in the end, you get a cyber hug. Well here goes it. By the way, My Friend Leonard really is an amazing story, and it's true. It kind of game me the idea for this. DISCLAIMER: I own zilch. **

I never really never fit in. I was always the annoying asshole of the school, and not many people liked me.

My younger brother, Mattie, was the only person I could rely on. My mom died I was young, and my dad was a truck driver. He worked often and had only 2-3 days to be with us before he left again. He was gone for weeks, and possibly even months, at a time. It's not that he doesn't want to be home, its just that he wants to have nice things.

Well, I woke up, always in the same rut. I woke Mattie up and got ready for school. I was so tired of living the same routine everyday. I wanted to find a way to change my life a bit.

When we were putting on our coats, Mattie said something I never expected to hear from him.

"Hey, Alfred, can we..." He broke off.

"Can we what, bro?" I asked.

"Can we...not go to school today?" I was caught off guard. He was the one always pushing me to go to school and get good grades.

"Sure!" I was surprised, and it's not everyday my brother wants to do something bad, so I went with it. "Are you gonna practice hockey or something?"

"I was thinking we could do something...bad." I was a bit uncomfortable, not knowing what he meant by "bad". He saw my facial expression and said, "Not that kind of _bad_! That's just...wrong."

I chuckled and said, "Well, what do you have in mind?"

Mattie seemed uncomfortable. He glanced around. "B-Breaking the l-law."

"You want to WHAT? What is wrong with you today? Your not acting right, bro!" I walked over to him. "What's going on?"

"Follow me." I did as I was told and followed him up the stair, around the corner and straight into...my room?

"What are you doing? This is _my _room." I stared at him, and he stared back. Mattie just frowned and said, "Look."

His hands slid over to a drawer on a nightstand. Right then, I knew what my bro was getting. He slid open the drawer and pulled out a box of cigarettes, unopened, along with a pale blue lighter. "Those are mine! Why were you even in my stuff?" I lunged forward, grabbing them both, and he stumbled back into my desk. He jumped forward when I turned my back to put it away. I fell forward, tossing them both under the desk before I hit the floor. I turned and he sprung at me again, but this time, I was prepared, and with a shove, I sent him through the air. He sailed right through the closed door and didn't get up. "MATTHEW!"

I ran over to see him laying, but breathing on the floor. "Mattie, can you hear me?" I opened the destroyed door to get closer. His eyes flicked open. "Are you an idiot? You could have _killed _me!" He sat up, eying the blood that ran down his forearm. "The only reason I was in your room in the first place was because I wanted my hockey puck you borrowed from me!"

"I'm sorry!" He sat up and looked at me. He started to leave. "Wait."

He whipped around. "Alfred. What do you want?"

"The only reason I had those cigarettes was because I was waiting for someone to smoke them with. Everyone does it, and I wanted to, too." I looked down and avoided my brother's stare. I expected a fist, but instead, I got a small push into the room. He walked past me and sat on the bed.

"Well?" He asked. "You wanted someone to smoke with." I was shocked, but I then smiled. I leaned down and grabbed the cigarettes and lighter, along with a small plastic ashtray he kept under his bed, but never had used it. I sat next to him and handed him one. "Alfred..."

I glanced up at him and saw he was nervous. "You don't have to."

"It's not that, it's just that..." His cheeks tinted pink. "...I don't know how to."

"Do what I do." I lit both and slowly sucked in on it. I held it in and then released it. He did the same, only he coughed and gagged a little. He did it again, and this time, he felt calmer. We both did it until our cigarette was done. I then put the box under my bed and went to make some food.

"Come on, I'm hungry." My brother and I went and made burgers. About six hamburgers later, I went back to my room, and Mattie followed. We smoked and talked and he told me about school, bullies, and friends. I told him about ditching, bullying, and girls.

"How many girls have you been with?" My brother asked blankly.

"How many have I dated or...?"

"Dated, Alfred. Dated."

"A few. Not many though. Most of the girls at our school are whores. There is one, though."

"Who is she?" He asked while finishing off his cigarette.

I handed him another and said, "Aria Daniels."

"Nice." We talked for a few more hours and he fell asleep on the floor and I fell asleep on the bed. This was a repeating pattern for a few weeks, except we went to school.

I felt today was my day. I was going to ask out Aria. She had long, blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was the most studious girl in the school, and I wanted her to be mine. Mattie and I got ready, smoked, and left for school. I saw her in the hallway, reading a book. I glanced at my watch and noticed I had twenty minutes. Twenty minutes to impress her. I walked over and asked her what she was reading.

"Oh, this? A friend recommended it to me. It's called My Friend Leonard. It's really good." We sat for the full twenty minutes and the bell to go to our lockers sounded. She stood and began to walk away, when I caller her name. "Uh...Aria! Wait up!" I jogged to her side. "Would you like to do something later this week?"

"...Bye, Alfred." She walked away quickly, leaving me looking like an idiot. I turned around and started walking to my locker. Walking became speed-walking. Speed-walking became running. I ran into the janitor's closet instead and shut the door. I pulled out my phone and called a number.

"Ally. You there?" Ally was the one person I could trust other than Mattie. She was crazy at times, but she was really reliable.

"Alfred? What is wrong with you? We haven't talked in weeks and you call me during class?" I realized I'd been neglecting her. "Where are you?"

"Janitor's closet, first floor."

She sighed. "I'll be down, just...stay there, okay?" She hung up. I sat and played with a mop until she got there.

The door slid open and Ally walked it and looked at me. "Don't looks so sad, it doesn't suit you." I smiled a bit and looked up at her. She sat on the floor and pulled a Gameboy Color out of her pocket.

"What you playin'?" I asked.

"Pokemon. I don't play anything else on this old thing." I sat next to her and watched her play for an hour. I heard the rumble of thunder outside, and all of a sudden, they lights flicked off. It was now dark throughout the whole school. She went to the door, but it was locked. "What the hell?"

A voice came over the loudspeaker. "Hello, students, we are on lockdown. The powers out, and all doors have been locked, except for the in-class restrooms, and the heat has been shut off because of the storm. Remain calm, and think of this as recess. Teachers, skip the remaining part of the lessons. Thank you."

"Damn! How do we get out now?" I began to panic.

"We're not." She said, blankly. Her gameboy soon died and we had no light. It eventually got really cold, so I let Ally wear my favorite sweatshirt. She fell asleep and laid on me. I started to cry about Aria. Ally soon lifted her head and asked why I was crying.

I told her all about Aria and how he'd liked her since the second grade. Ally seemed...sad, too. "What's wrong Ally-Cat?" She laughed. She always laughed at the stupid nickname ever since they were kids.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" That was unexpected. "You really are."

"What did I do?" I asked, playfully trying to nudge her, but missing and falling in the darkness.

"You must be blind, too." She said, laughing.

She was silent. "Tell me", I whined.

"Well, I...like you." Holy shit. She likes me. She likes me and I don't know if I like her. What am I gonna do? What if I say I don't like her and she hates me? "I like you...and you like my twin sister." Oh. My. Jesus.

"Your sister? _Twin _sister?" I pretty much choked on the air.

"Yeah, we don't speak. Aria's a bitch." The lights flicked back on and the doors unlocked. The storm was over. I looked at Ally, who had tears strolling down her pretty face, even though she was smiling. "I have to go."

"Wait! Don't leave!" This was too familiar. _I have to go. _The same words Mom said on her deathbed. The same words I told her. This was all too much. Both girls he loved were gone. They were sisters. I need something to make me feel better.

I ran out of the closet, up the stairs and out the front door. I ran straight down the street to my house. I closed and locked the door behind me.

I would have never dreamed of doing this before. I lit a cigarette, smoked it, and went for the medicine cabinent. I pulled out a bottle of cough syrup, poured it in a styrofoam cup, and sat in a chair in the kitchen. I drank it all and fell asleep, possibly for the last time in my life.


End file.
